The outrageous game that saw 48 penalties taken in a penalty shootout

The penalty shootout is one of the most intense, nail-biting situations in football. They provide moments of pure joy and pain, create heroes and villains, and give fans iconic moments.

Penalties decided both the 1994 and 2006 World Cups. Roberto Baggio’s decisive miss for Italy, which gave Brazil the victory in 1994, created one of the most heart-breaking scenes in World Cup history.

Twelve years later, the Italians were flawless; they scored all five of their penalties to beat France to football’s greatest prize.

On the flip side, England fans are well aware of the pain and tenseness of a penalty shootout. The wounds from losing the Euro 2020 final on penalties are still fresh.

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In addition, nail-biting penalty shootout losses to Portugal at the 2006 World Cup and Argentina at the 1998 World Cup are still painful memories.

For Manchester United, the shootout loss to Villarreal in the 2021 Europa League final still hurts the club’s fans. The pain of these penalties dragged on for 22 spot-kicks, with Villarreal ultimately winning 11-10.

However, this unusually long shootout pales in comparison to the Guinness World Record.

2005 Namibia Cup Penalty Shootout

In an astonishing turn of events, the 2005 Namibian Cup final had a mammoth 48 spot-kicks between the two sides.

The teams, KK Palace and Civics, drew 2-2 in normal time. After extra time, the two sides were still at a stalemate. Penalties beckoned.

It was an amazing effort by the squads. Incredibly, the 48 penalties lasted nearly as long as a football game itself. However, this was probably not helped by the standard of the penalties.

The two teams arguably had not taken much time practicing their spot-kicks. Both sides missed a massive 15 penalties in total. Eventually, KK Palace emerged victorious, claiming victory 17-16 over Civics.

However, the Namibian Cup Final does not hold the record for the most consecutive penalties scored.

Two sides from Hampshire hold that record. Brockenhurst and Andover possess the record for the most consecutive penalties scored. The two sides amassed an incredible 29 penalties scored in a row. Eventually, Andover missed the 30th penalty, giving Brockenhurst a 15-14 victory.

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Given the heart-stopping nature of a penalty shootout, let’s hope that they don’t regularly start lasting as long as these record-setters.

Featured Image Credit: Getty